They don't build them like they used to...

[dennis]

7.5 feet in living areas. Ie not in halls, kitchens, etc.

[John Rumm]

Have you got a reference for that?

[Tony Bryer]

It's very possibly in the NHBC standards (not on the web) which all new home builders registered with NHBC have to follow. They have a whole load of other non-BR requirements such as minimum number of power sockets, requiring roof timbers to be treated etc etc.

[Andrew Gabriel]

When I started work, I rented an Anglia Homes house, built in 1969 I was told. A complete pile of crap it was too. I drove past it about 10 years later, and saw the porch roof had finally collapsed, which it looked like it was slowly doing when we lived in it. We also had the incident when the toilet fell through the bathroom floor, although fortunately not all the way into the kitchen below, and there were a few other places where the chipboard floor had sheets with no support under corners, and you didn't dare put your full weight on them -- one did snap off.

[TheScullster]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote

Maybe I shouldn't complain too bitterly! My house has floor boards rather than chipboard upstairs but concrete down :(. Also all downstairs internal walls are block rather than stud/p-board. The upstairs "paramount" walls are totally naff though.

Phil

[dennis]

Having looked about I think things may have changed since I last looked. It was true in the 80's but may not be now.

[Jules]

Hmm, ours was done in 1949 apparently in "stream of conciousness" mode ;-)

It's solid as heck, but all rather random in construction technique. The plumbing and wiring are both awesome, looking more like they were grown than laid according to any kind of plan...

[Owain]

There would have still been postwar shortages of materials then.

Owain

[Clive George]

Even his side of the pond?

[<me9]

But do they stick to them? IME they don't.

[Owain]

Mmm, USA had food rationing 1942-46 (we had it for 14 years ending

1954) and steel would have been in demand, but probably not so much building materials - they had a lot less to rebuild than we did.

Owain